23 unedited

If the past couple of days are any indication of the year to come, I think there will be a lot of change.

Right now, I like to wear my hair down more than I wear it up. My bangs are always in my eyes and my hair tangles more than I like to admit.

I believe in birthdays.

My bed is always a mess. I use it as extra storage space when I don't put things away and have, for most of April, slept with my ukulele.

I wake up early. I love mornings. Coffee does nothing for me.

It takes me less than 10 minutes to get ready in the morning. Once, only 3.

It's cat eyes or nothing.

I don't stop to smell the flowers unless they're jasmine. I stop to take photos.

My phone/keys/cell phone are constantly "missing." They're usually in my pocket.

The best thing anyone has ever said to me was, "your soul has a right to breathe." Thanks, Danny.

The funniest thing a stranger has ever said to me was, "so what do you like about me?"

I start with the lower right when brushing my teeth, the upper right when flossing, the left everything when dressing, and the right contact lens always.

I'm not sure if I have a favorite meal. I like to say rice with anything, because it's comforting. Eggs make everything better, too.

This post is taking a lot longer to write than I thought it would. I started earlier this morning, fell asleep, and am back at it.

I'm partial to mustard yellow, lavender, and mint green.

I hope I'll always have freckles on my lips.

23

8:00 am

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Another birthday (almost) documented hour-by-hour. This birthday was different, I spent most of it alone running work errands. I was feeling a little defeated until a taxi driver finally agreed to take me from downtown Brooklyn to Williamsburg (several drivers had already refused). When I stepped into the cab, it was flooded with classical music. I chatted with the driver, Jean, who spoke French and was from Haiti. He asked where I was from, where my family was from, and told me the only Tagalog he knew: "mahal kita" ("I love you").

 I finally got some off-the-clock time and saw a filming of The Daily Show (!!) and eventually made my way to meet my coworkers for karaoke in Koreatown. After lots of delays and a quick bibimbap stop, I was worried because I was running late. I walked into our room and everyone started yelling and cheering, then breaking out into a huge chorus of "Happy Birthday." Most embarrassing/heartwarming/sweet.

 This time last year, I:
- had just met JGL (haha)
- was panicking about my future post-graduation
- began reading for fun again (homework be damned)
- was getting ready to become an au pair
- couldn't believe I was going back to Europe again.

 I don't have any "landmarks" coming up-- graduation is over, I have my first adulthood job. This next year is big and open and I can't wait.

(See 21 and 22)

this time last year...

Ha! Here's the original and here's the story.
(Yup, that's Joseph Gordon-Levitt.)

weekend

Another exhausting weekend, but in the best kind of way. The weather was very un-San Francisco: it was sunny to the point that I got my sandal-tan back after only being in the sun for a few hours. Dolores Park was filled with people lazing and basking.



I finally got my new (to me) bike. Cristie was a sweetheart during the whole search process-- answering my bike-noob questions and giving advice over the span of a few months. My first trip was to my sister's house. Raine, Raiza, and I are all planning to take a little bike trip together soon.



I got to try a lot of new things this weekend like orange-ginger carrot soup and yerba mate milk tea (both are amazing).




I spent a lot of time with Amy and her Joshua, getting the last 3 milk teas of the house from Boba Guys and hosting a pad thai party (more on this later, of course).

pimm's cups

Pimm's was our go-to drink while punting in Oxford but I hadn't heard of Pimm's cups until Jenna made them in our apartment last year. I saw Pimm's on the shelf at Happy Hour last week and after ordering a Pimm's cup, got lots of questions about what I was drinking. I (shamefully) was terrible at explaining what Pimm's was, but here's Jenna's world-famous recipe to clear up the rest of the mystery.



Jenna's Pimm's Cups
(makes 2)

6 oz Pimm's
3 in. piece of cucumber, sliced
3 T lemon juice
1/2 tsp sugar
Ginger beer (J highly recommends the Maine Root Ginger Brew)

Muddle cucumber in shaker. Add Pimm's, lemon juice, and sugar and shake. Strain into glasses over ice and top with ginger beer to taste.

They're light, refreshing, and remind me of summer.

date night

We didn't know what was around there-- we just parked and hoped for the best. We took a chance on the first restaurant we saw and decided to share everything. You got a pescetarian bento box, I ordered sushi, and our table was almost too small for all the dishes. They thought the beer you ordered was for both of us, so they brought two glasses. You shared anyway but ended up finishing mine for me.

We finished just in time to walk over to our movie.

saturday brunch

Our Saturday brunch between high school girl friends. Em showed us her wedding dress + church, Sara "convinced" us to get mimosas, and we all ordered the same thing. (A French toast sandwich?! How could we not?)

my favorite ocean

The Pacific is so big and so cold (where I live) that it sometimes feels untouchable. The ocean air is refreshing but the actual water is unwelcoming.

Even though I rarely go in the water, I still feel like these beaches-- this ocean-- is important to me. Almost like a constant presence in Pacifica, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, even the Philippines.

I remember sitting in the passenger seat of my sister's car as she explained how the stoplights along The Great Highway work: as long as you maintain a speed of about 35mph, you'll hit all green lights. Any faster and you'll have to stop-and-go because you keep hitting reds.

I remember playing in the tide pools in the Philippines with my brother. How we found two starfish and pretended they were his bra like a mermaid.

I remember driving to the beach-- in Pacifica, along the Great Highway, anywhere I could see it-- because it helped calm my heart. It gave me somewhere to go and sit and heal.

It's funny how something so big can feel like home.

the violet | spring 2012

It's here!! I was so excited that I flipped through every page to see the collection of beautiful stories and photographs-- but I can't wait to sit down and just read through everything. This is The Violet's 1-year anniversary issue and it's so amazing to see how the magazine has grown since last year.

I have two little tutorials in the "Create" section about terrariums and messages in bottles. (You should see my desk at work right now-- it's like a greenhouse).

I hope you enjoy the issue! Now that it's here, it feels like Spring has officially begun.

alamo square

A Sunday stroll in Alamo Square with the Painted Ladies, Pauline, and the world's sweetest 10-year-old-pup, Jules.

easter weekend

Mixed flowers, reading the paper, 5-hour long dinners and mint green pants. I love Spring.

rooftop party

Last week we had Happy Hour on our founders' roof.













The weather was perfect, the view was lovely, and one of our engineers, Alex, was DJing (he's amazing). I'm a big fan of Happy Hour.